[Jim Fowler]

Hi Guys,

Any one have experience using Corian in a steam room?

I’ve been in this business a long time and have never even been asked to do one till now.

If I do the job I think the floor should be built like a shower base with sloped floor and coved corners in order to contain any water and have no leaks, but I’m concerned about expansion & contraction problems.

The heat differential in these units must be huge, causing the materials to expand & contract dramatically.

I understand that the ceiling must be sloped towards the wall to stop hot water from dripping on the users head.

I have checked on the Web but have found conflicting opinions on whether Corian should even be used in a steam room, apparently Dupont does not recommend it.

Any Tips or Cautions?

Thanks,

Jim Fowler

[Jon Olson]

Hello Jim here is a little information. Corian can not be used where there is direct steam on the surface. (Corian has a tech bulletin on this I will find it for you). One thing to keep in mind is the GTT (Glass transition temperature) If I remember correctly it’s where a material starts to soften. To thermo form corian the temperature has to be at least 250 degrees for 12 minutes before it will bend. So make sure the steam is not hotter than that. More than likely its not since the legal water temperate is no higher than 220 degrees.

[Tom M]

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the solid surface could actually warp under steam conditions.

DuPont will not warrant it, that’s for sure, and that could open you up to some costly trouble.

Tom

[Gordon Shell]

The Corian will actually move away from the steamy moisture in the room, I used to demo this by putting a pc of 1/4″ material over a heated fish tank. I put the pc of materail on the tank @ 8am on the first day of my class and by the second day of the class the material would start bowing away from the water. Dupont does not warranty steam room applications.

[John Christensen]

I have done probably about 5 steam shower installations. Have had call backs on only one. Seems as though they allow her doughter to have slumber parties and the steam would be turned on to warm up the shower and them the girls would watch a movie and forget that the steam was on. Extreme? yes and it did cause a failure. The pam was made in the method you discribe and the failure was at theseam where the apron joined to the cove. Also this was a 7′ x 9′ shower and was installed in two pieces. It developed a crack at the site seam.

The customer was made aware of the potential heat problem and I made repairs on the unit twice at my expense. We did four other SS showers in this house at the same time so I felt that he could expects some service. At the time of the first repair I also made a deflection shoe that hangs round the neck of the steam nozzle to deflect the steam from blowing directly onto the floor. On the last visit and repair I sugessted that they fill the pan with about 1″ of water before turning on the steam. The walls are all curved and siliconed at the seams with rabetted battons over. No problems with the walls. It has been over five years since I have heard from this customer and 13 years since the original installation. No free repairs from here on out.

Johnny C

I won’t do another steam shower. Just to much risk.

[Joe Corlett]

gshell wrote

The Corian will actually move away from the steamy moisture in the room, I used to demo this by putting a pc of 1/4″ material over a heated fish tank. I put the pc of materail on the tank @ 8am on the first day of my class and by the second day of the class the material would start bowing away from the water. Dupont does not warranty steam room applications.

Gordon:

It has always been my understanding that DuPont only warrants residential countertop applications for Corian anyway. No residential shower pans, no commercial work. Is this correct?

Joe

[Tom M]

Joe,

I’m not speaking for gshell, but they at least used to warrant tub/shower surrounds. INstallation as well.

Never a pan, though, they had less control over how it would get made, so you can’t really blame them.

And no steam.

Tom

[Gordon Shell]

Joe and Tom,

Dupont never warranteed steam rooms or shower pans but yes, if properly installed the shower surround is covered.

[Joe Corlett]

gshell wrote

Joe and Tom,

Dupont never warranteed steam rooms or shower pans but yes, if properly installed the shower surround is covered.

Gordon:

There is no warranty on commercial work?

Joe

[Gordon Shell]

There is a product warranty but the install is not covered, that was as of June 2005, you’ll want to contact your distributor to get any updates.

[Jon Olson]

Dave here is a little info from the site that might help you with your steam question

[David Gerard]

Hi Jon, The link didn’t make it. The brand I’m going to use is not corian. The brand I’m going to use does allow for use in steam showers, says so in the manual. I would deffinetly like to see what you have . I scowered the net last night and found many sites that offer ss in steam showers. I have brought this up because I thought I remember some of the fabnet members in a previous thread recommended against it. not sure why. If I allow for movment I don’t see the problem. Signage for instance is subjected to as much if not more rapid movment than anything.

[Tom M]

With signage, you usually build in the allowance where it won’t be seen, such as mortising in around the framing.. You also don’t have the risk you do in a live steam application.

I think the warping risk is significant, but you also might get a blanching effect around the nozzles. With some acrylics I have seen a whitening around that area that could only be attributed to the steam itself.

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